Syringe



July 9, 1929. c. A. BALLREICH SYRINGE Filed Dec. 15, 1926 air/007gPatented July 9, 1929.

CHARLES A. BALLREICH, 0): LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SYRINGE.

Application filed December 15, 1926. Serial No. 154,871.

This invention has to do generally with syringes and is moreparticularly concerned with syringes used for flushing or irrigating thevagina.

It is known that the defining walls of the vagina are normally more orless flabby and tend to cling together in a manner to resist thoroughflushing and cleansing between the folds. I have provided a syringehaving a dilator which is adapted to dilate the vagina walls in a mannerto open out the folds and thus give full access tothe flushing stream,to the end that the cleansing operation may be thorough and effective.

Now I am aware that heretofore there have been syringes provided withdevices intended to perform this function, but their common fault seemsto have been that they have been so harsh that the pain accompanyingtheir application has led to discontinuance of their use. Furthermore,these devices, while having a distending effect on the vagina, as awhole, have usually been of a nature to compress the wall-foldstogetherin an entrapping manner, rather than separating said folds. I

Another short-cominghas been their comparative bulk and complication,both of which characteristics are most undesirable, as will be readilyunderstood. The above statements are not made in the spirit ofderogation, but merely that my advance in the art may be more clearlypointed out.

I have provided a dilator having characteristics which not only insureproper distention of the vagina and opening out of the wall-folds butalso enable the entry, use and withdrawal of the syringe without causingpain, to the end that the use of the syringe is encouraged and harmfulresults avoided.

Generally, I accomplish this by the provision of a dilator held to thesyringe stem near its nozzle end, the dilator comprising a body portionabout the stem and from which project radial, flexible arms of a lengthand degree of rigidity sufficient to extend and hold out the walls ofthe vagina so access is had to the complete surface thereof. However,the arms have sufiicient inherent flexibility to allow them to yield andbend substantially parallel to-the stem as the syringe is inserted orwithdrawn through the orifice, to obvious advantage. The resiliency ofthe arms is such that they assume an extended position as soon as theyclear the orifice.

The dilatormay be considered as of star formation, the points beingadapted to engage the vagina walls at spaced points, thereby insuring aproper extension and yet not overlying too much surface nor preventingthe free flow of fluid from the syringe.

Preferably, though not necessarily, I also provide the syringe stem witha distender adapted to act on the orifice walls during use of thesyringe. lVhile this distender is used to advantage in combination withthe dilator above described, it is also useful in connection withsyringes having no dilator or having a dilator different to thatdisclosed. Therefore, the combination of the stem and distender, withoutthe inclusion of the dilator, is made the subject matter of certain ofmy claims.

This distender is preferably in the nature of a fluted sleeve,preferably somewhat pearshaped, the ribs of the sleeve being adapted toengage the orifice walls to prevent them from closing down on thesyringe stem, proper, and the channels between ribs providing apassageway for the outlet of flushing fluid. While the distender may bea .sleeve of rubber adapted to be slipped over the stem, my broaderclaims contemplate the substitution of an integral enlargement of thestem, said enlargement serving as a distender and being groovedlongitudinally to provide the desirable passageways.

Other objects and novel features of the invention will be made apparentin the follow ing detailed description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of the preferredembodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, the showing of the distender beingomitted;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 illustrates a variational manner of ap lying the distender to thesyringe stem.

11 the drawings I have shown a syringe embodying a tubular stem 10 whichpreferably tapers from its rounded and apertured nozzle end 11-to thefluid inlet end 12. A hose 13 is applied to end 12 in the usual mannerand leads from a relatively large capacity fluid-reservoir .14. Theremay be a. usual force-bulb 15 in the hose line in order to createforcible jets through the nozzle apertures 16 which open from stem bore17.

My dilator is indicated generally at 18 and is characterized as astar-shaped member made up of ring-like body portion 19 and normallyradially extending points or arms 20, these arms being smoothly roundedthroughout. Arms 20 are made of a yieldable, resilient material such asrubber and may be integral with body portion 19, the degree of rigidityof the arms (tending to hold them normally projected in the manner shownin Fig. 1) is sufficient to hold the relatively yielding walls of thevagina extended and to open out the wall-folds, but the arms aresufiiciently flexible to permit them being bent either backwardly orforwardly, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, into substantiallyparallel relation with the stem during insertion and withdrawal,respectively,

of the syringe. The yieldability is such that this bending may beaccomplished Without fear, injury or pain to the user.

As described at the forepart of this description, the dilator armsspread the vagina walls in a manner to expose them fully to the actionof the spray from nozzle 11, and this insures a thorough cleansing. Inview of the somewhat full remarks previously made in this connection,this point will not be enlarged upon here.

\Vlule the arms 20 may be held to the stem in any suitable manner, Ipreferably provide an annular groove 21 in the stem near nozzle 11, thebody member 19 being first radially expanded as it is slipped along thestem into registry with the groove and then, by virtue of its inherentresiliency contracting intosaid groove, being thereby positioned on thestem.

I have provided a distender 22 on stem 10, said distender preferablybeing in spaced relation'with respect to extender 18. l/Vhile thisdilator may be characterized as an enlargement of and therefore integralwith the stem and my claims contemplate such a characterization)preferably it is in the formof a separate rubber sleeve slipped over thesmall end of the stem and held in any suitable manner, as by friction,in proper positionon the stem. In such a case, and as illustrated in-Fig. 5, the dilator may be adjusted longitudinally along the stem tosuit the individual requirements. Or it may be contracted into anannular recess 23, as in Fig. 4, to hold it more or less fixedly in avgivenposition. i

Dilator 22 is preferably somewhat pearshaped, the smaller, rounded endfacingextender 19, and it is fluted to provide surface depressions orwaterways 24 which preferably extend substantially parallel to the axisof the stem. The ribs 25 which define these passageways are adapted to sread or distendthe walls of the vagina ori' ce, thus holding said'wall'sclear of passageways 24 and insuring the free outward flow of flushingfluid, a very important provision, as will be understood.

.It will be noted that the syringe is of a most simple nature, requiresno special attention to prepare it for immediate use, and, due to itsnature and appearance, relieves prospective users from any fear of itsemployment, its use hence being encouraged.

It will be understood the drawings. and description are to be consideredmerely as illustrative of and not restrictive onthe broader claimsappended hereto, for various changes in design, structure andarrangement may be made without de-partingfrom the spirit and scope ofsaid claims.

I claim:

I 1. In a device of the character described, a relatively rigid tubularstem having nozzle apertures near one end thereof, the stembeingprovided with an annular groove at apoint adjacent the apertures, and adilator on the stem, said dilator being characterized as a. ringlikebody portion having radial, resilient arms formed of softyieldingmaterial, saidbody portion being radially sprung into the grooveand thereby positioning the dilator longitudinally on the stem.

2-. In a syringe, a relatively rigid tubular stem havingnozzle aperturesnear one end thereof, and a dilator surrounding said stemhaving a ringportionadj aeent said apertures, a single row offlexiblearmsformedofrelatively soft elastic material extending out-- wardlyfromsaid ring at right angles to said stem, said arms being yieldinglyconnected to said ringportionwhereby they may bebent from the positionat right angles to the stem to a position parallel to the stem.

3; In a syringe, a. tubular stem formed of relatively rigid material andhaving a nozzle end, an independent; dilator of relatvelysoft materialon said stem and havinga plurality of spaced fingers. adjacent saidnozzle end and adapted tov d-ilateythewalls of the cavity into which thesyringe isinserted, and a distend'er on the stem spaced from the dilatorand adapted; to di'stend' the opening into the cavity, saidv distendercomprising a plurality of-arms extending longitudinally of the stem andproviding passageways therebetwe'en, said dilatorfingers and sa-iddistender arms being formed of softyielding material whereby they may bebent around. the stem.

In witness that I claim the foregoingI" have hereunto,subscribedmy namethis first day of December 1926.

7 CHARLES A. BALLREIGH;

